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Arctis
Darth Arctis 'was one of the highest-ranking Sith Lords in the Empire during his time, sitting below only the Dark Council in authority and renowned for his relentless nature. Arctis led an impressive career in the Empire that spanned several decades. By the time of the Treaty of Coruscant, he had earned favor with the reigning Dark Council and became one of their top emissaries. Darth Ravage selected Arctis to serve as his ambassador to the Sith Imperium during the renewed war with the Republic. He would remain in this position for several years. Despite an admirable performance of his duties of ambassador, the Dark Council abruptly called for Arctis to resign his post and return to Imperial space. His current status is unknown. Biography Early Life His birth name long forgotten, Arctis is a descendant of the illustrious Ludo Kressh. It is believed he witnessed the execution of his father, a petty Sith Lord who earned the ire of the Dark Council, at a young age. After the demise of his father, Darth Ikoral, one of the greatest lords in the Empire at the time, took him as a protege. The Dynasty of Fear After the betrayal and final demise of the Dread Masters, six powerful Sith Lords with the capability to sow crippling terror through the minds of their victims, Arctis found opportunity in a mysterious figure known as the Warlord, who had once led a legion of Sith assassins but disappeared after the Masters' liberation from imprisonment on Belsavis during the early stages of the war. The Warlord sought to maintain their legacy and begun assembling her own dynasty of fear on Ilum. Taking the Fray Landing, a Republic military installation that was sacked during Operation: Dark Ice, as her base of operations, the Warlord and her assassins sent tremors through the Force in an effort to draw Force sensitives to Ilum and enthrall them. Return to the Empire With the Dread Guard scattered and the disappearance of the Warlord, Arctis chose to leave the mantle of Dread Master behind him and return to the Empire, finding a place under the command of Darth Ravage. Arctis soon began working closely with Ravage in his drives to expand Imperial borders and rose to become one of the Dark Council's favored subordinates. The Dark Council soon grew concerned of their relations with the Sith Imperium, a small yet powerful state whom the Empire had allied with, and dispatched Darth Arctis to assist Darth Candicia Thul, the Sith Lord assigned as their representative in the Imperium. Following Candicia's resignation, Darth Ravage selected Arctis as the new ambassador. He would serve dutifully in this post. Expedition into the Unknown During the Sith Imperium's conflict with the Xenocide, Alesis Citadel, Darth Arctis felt a particularly bothersome disturbance in the Force and pinpointed its source: the Unknown Regions. Returning to his sanctuary on Dromund Fels, Arctis prepared his personal shuttle for the voyage into deep space, and instructed his subordinate Colonel Tarko to supervise his power base during his absence. Having fortified his power structure, Darth Arctis departed, alone, with a course set for the Unknown Regions. As his journey progressed, the disturbance grew and he came to find it strangely familiar. Arctis never returned from his voyage, and any attempts to locate his shuttle failed. With his disappearance, one of the Sith Lord's apprentices attempted to seize control of his power base. Colonel Tarko, fiercely loyal to his master, discovered the apprentice's intent and ordered him burned alive. After the colonel's execution of the traitorous apprentice, none moved to take control of Arctis' power structure. The Sith Imperium assumed Darth Arctis died in the Unknown Regions, but his Imperial colleagues insisted he was still alive and would reappear in time. Resurgence Darth Arctis was indeed alive, though he laid in stasis lock for over half a decade. The traitorous Asavian was responsible for his imprisonment, although his lingering presence was felt by Darth Erasis Citadel and several of his followers in the Sith Imperium. Arctis was eventually tracked to Ilum and freed by a group of Sith aligned with the Imperium, led by Erasis himself. Following his release from stasis, Arctis returned to his post as head of the Sith Empire's delegation to the Imperium. Once the Asavianic War concluded, Arctis was all but confined to Dromund Kaas, working to ease the Dark Council's rage over the Imperium's numerous intrusions into Imperial territory during their war. He soon met with Praetor Si'alla Val'enn aboard the ''Sovereign to discuss the diplomatic tension, but also gave her schematics for an orbital anti-dreadnought weapons platform, the Argent Sky Lancer, to bolster planetary defenses as thanks for Imperium personnel freeing him from imprisonment on Ilum several months prior. Shortly after, he assisted the Praetor, Dread Master Kataret, and several other heroes of the Imperium in a mission to scour the ruins of the Successors' Palace in the jungles outside Kaas City. The ambassador was able to secure transport for the strike team without drawing unwanted attention and ventured into the jungles with them. After cutting through the wild beasts, the group eventually reached the ruined Dread Palace, finding Dread Master Erasis unconscious in a nearby river. Though he was revived by the combined powers of Si'alla and Kataret, it was clear he required medical attention. Colonel Ada Eliasara, the commanding officer of the special operations unit Skull Wing, called for one of her shuttles to extract them. Furious that they had stationed a military vessel nearby and not informed him, and without proper authorization no less, Darth Arctis expressed regret over agreeing to assist the Imperium in an off-the-books mission in Imperial space and vowed he would never do such again. While the others departed, Praetor Val'enn assured Arctis she would speak with Darth Ravage to alleviate any consequences he might hold for Arctis. Although he was not held accountable for the Imperium's unauthorized passage to Dromund Kaas, the Dark Council would not forget his mistake. Darth Arctis faced scrutiny a second time during the conflict between the Dread Masters and the High Council. Having witnessed Princess Kharia, the Voice of the Emperor, declaring the Masters were carrying out the will of their sovereign, he pledged Imperial support to them. Unfortunately, the tensions would only escalate. During a session of the Council, the Dread Masters threatened the Empress herself. Darth Candicia called for their deaths, and a final confrontation on Oricon, seat of the original Dread Masters' power, saw the conflict end. Although the Imperium did not express ill will toward the ambassador for his support of the Masters, his own superiors condemned his decision. Resignation Having failed the Dark Council twice as their representative in the Imperium, Darth Arctis' reputation in the Empire had taken severe damage. Attending a session of the Imperium's own High Council in which Darth Salvatus returned and reformed his government, he overheard the Emperor speaking of impending doom, a threat lurking in the shadows which eclipsed all others the galaxy had faced in the past decade. Arctis knew the Emperor's prophecies had come forth as reality before, and, as such, immediately returned to Dromund Kaas and reported the details of the revelation to Darth Ravage personally. The Dark Council later deliberated on the possibility of another threat to the galaxy emerging, as well as that of their own former Emperor, and came to a conclusion that the Empire was to prepare. Arctis was faced with an ultimatum from Darth Marr: return to serve the Empire solely and his past grievances would be cast aside. Darth Ravage instructed his subordinate to resign as ambassador, then he would serve under Marr as his chief military advisor. Arctis dared not defy the Dark Council in such a stressful point in time and agreed to his masters' terms. Shortly after, he met with Si'alla Val'enn, now Praetor, to deliver the news, but rumors had already spread through the Imperium's hierarchy. To his surprise, the Praetor and many of the new councilors were disappointed with confirmation of the speculations. Val'enn invited those aboard the Sovereign to the council chambers, where Arctis gave a statement announcing his resignation as ambassador. He was commended by Darth Senna of the High Council, and a handful of others. Before departing, he conveyed his pleasure to have served with the people of the Imperium and bid the Council a final farewell. Rise and Fall of the Eternal Empire The tumultuous reign of Zakuul as the dominant superpower in the galaxy left Powers/Abilities Darth Arctis embraces the use of Sith magic in both academic and combative fields. Regarded as one of the foremost practitioners of alchemy, he employs a variety of Force techniques in battle, most notably the death field, a swirling mass of dark side energy that takes the shape of a sphere capable of sapping the victim's strength and, in cases of prolonged exposure, wither them into a dry husk, and the mind shard, a mental attack that will induce considerable psychic pain. Personality Darth Arctis is known for his complete lack of empathy and cruel nature Summarized Character Information * '''Homeworld: '''Dromund Fels * '''Species: Sith * Gender: Male * Affiliations: Sith Empire, Sith Imperium (as Imperial ambassador) * Masters: Darth Ikoral * Known Apprentices: Darth Nostrem, various others * Alignment: Evil Category:Inactive Personnel